Medal of Honor Fighter Commander

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The hardcore World War II guys at EA LA take to the skies with their first air combat title.

By IGN Staff

After speaking with several of the EA LA team members (formerly known as Dreamworks) it became instantly clear that they aren't just mildly interested in World War II. To call them World War II Otaku would be slightly out of place, too. They sound more like history buffs than anything else. The fact is their knowledge and infatuation with that crucial time in the world's history is helping to create incredibly accurate and interesting portrayals of World War II through videogames. To mix various gameplay elements with accurate, detailed re-creations and to strike a balance that's fun and engaging is something EA LA has done very well to date.

With Medal of Honor Fighter Commander, EA LA is hoping to re-enact the intense, frightening, and exhilarating battles that took place in the Pacific Theater during World War II and to have players experience those sensations through a slightly different lens than ever before. Rather than play on foot through the first-person perspective, players now have the chance to play while flying planes, dozens of World War II planes. Having begun work on Fighter Commander in fall 2000, EALA's title enables gamers to pilot dozens of World War II airplanes through an flurry of real world missions staged in the Pacific Theater right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Taking the controls of planes such as the Hellcat, Corsair, the P38, PBJs, and a heavily armed patrol bomber, players can go against the computer or the battle head-to-head with a friend. The single-player missions range from reconnaissance sessions, torpedo runs, interception missions, escort missions, search-and-rescue missions, and dogfights. All of these situational missions are based on real events that happened during World War II. In one mission, players may find that they have to jump ship and end up floating in a raft. If they're lucky they may get picked up by an allied forces vessel. It's either that or becoming shark bait... In the two-player modes, gamers can go head to head, or play cooperatively, with one player as the pilot, and the other as the tail gunner.

The gameplay sounds encouraging with more emphasis on strategic attacks and intelligent plans than straight-out balls-to-the-walls offensives. Also, it appears that EA LA is not trying to compete with Namco's Air Combat series, which is an arcade-based flying combat game. Instead, the controls are different, and the feel of the flying is altogether unique, too. For instance, players will concentrate more on escorting smaller planes, or accurately launching torpedoes at enemy battle ships than seeking solely zipping though the air chasing enemy planes. Of course, head-to-head dogfights are a major part of the game, but they aren't the only part by any means. Other examples enable players to man different positions on the collection of planes, such as taking on the role of the waist gunner or the radar operator, while the AI flies the plane. Players also have the chances to take off and land on aircraft carriers.

Just like in Medal of Honor on PlayStation, Medal of Honor Fighter Commander is planned to deliver an original score by award-winning composer Michael Giacchino, who will visit Polynesian and Aboriginal musical themes from the South Pacific.

But don't get too excited about Fighter Commander just yet. MOH Frontline is due first, in Q1 2002, followed by MOH Fighter Commander "sometime" in 2002, quite some time from now. We'll have more information on EA LA's in the near future.